Shapes of things

When the Irish band were a folksy blues three-piece, it was Eric Bell who defined Thin Lizzy on their 1971 self-titled debut and early 70s follow-ups, Shades Of A Blue Orphanage and Vagabonds Of The Western World

Midge Ure, the Live Aid orchestrator and Ultravox synth-pop pioneer, looks back at his trial by fire with Thin Lizzy – and why he told Phil Lynott: “I’m not the guy you should be asking”

Richard Barrett is on a mission to make you a better blues player – with full audio examples and backing tracks

FOR A HALF-CENTURY AND COUNTING, THE THIN LIZZY SOUND HAS BEEN FORGED AND RECAST BY SCOTT GORHAM AND THE GREATS WHO PARTNERED HIM ON DUELLING LES PAULS, INCLUDING THE LATE JOHN SYKES. GORHAM LOOKS BACK ON THE HIGHS, LOWS, JOY AND PAIN OF HIS CLASSIC PARTNERSHIPS

THOUGH HE’S RIGHTFULLY earned his place on electric guitar’s version of Mount Rushmore, Martin Barre has never been remotely interested in hero worship — especially when it comes to guitar heroes. “I

From Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests to extended residencies at Las Vegas’s hi-tech phenomenon the Sphere – and, soon, the storied stage of the Royal Albert Hall – it’s been a long, strange trip for BOBBY WEIR . But the guardian of the GRATEFUL DEAD ’ s legacy still has further to go. “Am I still on the bus now? Yeah, I am,” he tells Nick Hasted